I thought I would post some pics from the Commonwealth Air Training Museum. It's located in Brandon, Manitoba, in Canada {probably off the beaten path for most of you! :p
Nice pictures Freebird. This is where my father trained and had his first flight on the Fairey Battle. Bill and SueOn Hillman have given me authority to use any of their material in my book. They have a wonderful website as well. Leslie
On this subject of the BCAPT does anyone know if the Bolingbroke was used as a gunnery platform at BCATP B&G schools? I have a friend who swears he read it somewhere, but none of the vets, including my F-i-L who trained at Mont Joli on the Fairey Battle. Same friend also has the drogues being towed by FBs. Friends, your collective wisdom please.
I am reading recollections of Imperial Airways Staff including one navigator who was sent to Canada for his training and always remembers how blue the sky was. He remembers his time in Canada very fondly.
He must have been on the prairies where the sky goes from horizon to horizon. You ought to see what rainbows look like in skies like that. The other thought I used to have when it was migration time for the ducks or geese was maybe this is what those thousand plane raids looked like to the folks on the receiving end.
Great photographs and nice to see the restoration work on the Fairy battle. Looks like a total rebuild! and is that a 1/4 scale model in process of construction in the background? Tom
I've done some research on my late father who trained at Brandon from about February 1943 to August 1943. There seem to be no record at the Museum [which is obviously also at Brandon] of him or any other NZers who were also there. the Museum did track a copy of the "barber" book where all the airmen signed in when they went for a haircut. Any ideas what esle i can do to find out about his time there?
spiderw, Have you come across any of the Airman's Post out of Brandon? RCAF Brandon Depot - Airman's Post
On this subject of the BCAPT does anyone know if the Bolingbroke was used as a gunnery platform at BCATP B&G schools? These web sites should interest you and answer the question. List of British Commonwealth Air Training Plan facilities in Canada - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Bristol Bolingbroke - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Canadian Military History by Bruce Forsyth - A Short History of Abandoned and Downsized Canadian Military Bases The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan | Details RCAF Station Mossbank - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia My wife's uncle was an armourer stationed at Mossbank during war years, I am aware of him loading practice bombs. Twenty year ago components from an Avro Anson that made a forced landing after loosing power somewhat off the end of the Mossbank runway were recovered from a slew frozen at the time of the crash. Bill
Great video on the BCATP and specifically the # 39 STFS at Swift Current. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRalc8fRNRE&sns=em
On this subject of the BCAPT does anyone know if the Bolingbroke was used as a gunnery platform at BCATP B&G schools? I have a friend who swears he read it somewhere, but none of the vets, including my F-i-L who trained at Mont Joli on the Fairey Battle. Same friend also has the drogues being towed by FBs. Friends, your collective wisdom please. Yes it was, from what I've been told by one of the RCAF vets who trained on the Bolingbroke as an Air Gunner. There is also a 2nd Bolingbroke on public display in Brandon along the Trans-Canada highway. (Next to the Comfort Inn hotel)
Swift Current Saskatchewan Canada http://www.swiftcurrent.ca/divisions/infrastructure-operations/swift-current-airport/airport-history
a bit off the subject but when my father returned from the war he was able to buy one of the housing units from the training base in Swift Current. the inside was renovated and painted. The door to my bed room had the sign printed on it Night Flyers with a picture of a bat over top. wish I would have kept same.
This website is a great reminder of the many BCATP training facilities in Saskatchewan alone. The program was responsible for training nearly half the pilots, navigators, bomb aimers, air gunners, wireless operators and flight engineers who served with the Royal Air Force (RAF), Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during the war. Ghosts of Saskatchewan > Vintage Wings of Canada
